Quia in Aeternum - DEH/BMC

Uh Oh

Clearly, none of them were very creative.

    "Alright, chuckleheads, let's do truth or dare," Jared said, glancing around the Heere's living room, winking at Evan as his gaze passed. Uh oh. "Evan, would you like to start?"

    "Not really." Evan was sitting on the couch, Connor half asleep on his shoulder with an arm around him. This was nice. He was comfy and warm and everything was still and quiet. Jared, Jeremy, and Michael had been playing some video game with cars and bright colors and banana peels and blue turtle shells that got Jeremy to curse like a sailor when his character got hit with one. The lights were dim and the game's music rippled through the air. Michael and Jeremy were almost on top of each other, sharing a bean bag so Jared could have the other. Evan smiled at that. They hadn't told each other about their feelings, but they had less personal space than him and Connor. It was all blissful and normal. No accidents to clean up, no problems to solve, no questions to answer by dodging around the real issue (No, I'm not chanting anything. Why are you even here? I thought you were sleeping over at Michael's house tonight. I was practicing a speech for school tomorrow, okay? No, it was not latin. No it didn't mean anything. Go away). Evan felt like an ordinary teenager. That hadn't happened in, well, ever. He needed to thank Jared for suggesting a calm little sleepover guys' night where they could just hang out. You know, until he went and ruined it.

    "Okay, then, sissy. I'll go. Hey, Murphy?" Connor opened one eye to glare at him.

    "What?" he grumbled.

    "Truth or dare?"

    "I dare you to shut the fuck up." He curled back into Evan's side, ignoring Jared's protests about him playing the game wrong. Evan chuckled. "Can't do it, can you? I win."

    "Fine, buzzkill," Jared huffed, scanning the room again. "You, Jeremy. Truth or dare?"

    "Um... Truth, I guess." Jeremy shifted his weight in the beanbag, falling a little closer to Michael with a grunt. Michael smirked and shoved him back up.

    "Lame." Jared rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Um..."

"Don't, don't you have a question?" Evan asked. Jared glared at him, going pink.

"Of course I do! Jeremy, what color is your underwear right now?"

"Jared! That's not--that's not a real question!" Connor nudged Evan when he sat up to scold his friend, grabbing his hand and pulling him back into place as a pillow. Evan sighed, settling in. Everything's fine. You don't need to be in charge.

"Um... White I think? Pretty sure it was just plain white today." Jeremy was bright red. Michael was blushing too, looking at anything but his friend, whose side was still pressed against his.

"Pfft, boring. Your turn." Jared leaned back in his bean bag, pulling a little glass flask out of his pocket and twirling it between his fingers. Evan opened his mouth to scold him.

"Evan," his brother's voice cut off his questioning protest, "truth or dare?"

"I, I don't--"

"Come on, play along," Jeremy pleaded. Evan shrunk himself into the couch, gripping Connor's hand tighter. Connor opened his eyes and sat up, squeezing his hand in return, grounding him. Right, this was fine and safe and just a game. Just a silly, simple little game.

"T-truth." Jeremy bit his lip, scrutinizing Evan and casting a glance up the stairs to Evan's room. Uh oh. Michael followed his gaze. His jaw set and a flicker crossed his eyes, half-hidden behind the glare of the TV on his glasses. Uh oh. Jared smirked. He stopped twirling the bottle, holding it loose between two fingers. He was staring Evan dead in the eyes. Uh oh.

"What's going on with you?"

"I don't--I don't understand the question?" Evan was starting to shiver. Tension was bad. He hadn't prepared for tension.

"It's like your room is some secret lair. You never tell me anything about what you're up to. You have weird books and weird plants and say really weird things sometimes. Like, stuff that's definitely not in English. Whatever you're into, it's fine, really. I won't judge. But what exactly have you been hiding from me? And from my dad, too? What's the big secret and why do you care so much about us finding out?" No, no, no, no, no.

Evan's mind reeled. Jared had known for years, and Michael knew now too, but he couldn't tell Connor or Jeremy. They'd hate him. They'd hate him for being a freak and for lying to them about it all this time. They were, they were family. He couldn't just go telling them he was, was--Evan's vision swirled, everything going fuzzy. He couldn't breathe. Connor was holding him closer, trying to get his attention. Trying to help him focus and breathe, dammit.

Two shaky, cold breaths later, Evan came to his senses. Connor was holding him. Everyone else stared at him with bated breath. Evan's fingers searched for the amulet around his neck, clutching to the enchanted metal as if it could teleport him far away from the living room and it's impossible questions. The chain dug into his neck, pulled taught by the weight of his groping hand.

    "Dude," Michael turned to glare at Jeremy, who was shrinking into the beanbag, panicked guilt in every shade of his blush, "I think that's a little much. It's truth or dare, not confession. Give him some space." Thank goodness for Michael. Maybe this would all--

    "No, I want to hear this," Jared said, eyes wide behind dusty lenses as he stared Evan down. "Nothing wrong with confiding in your brother. Might even help you two bond."

    "Hey!" Connor leapt to his feet, towering over Jared. "Leave him alone. If he doesn't want to talk, you don't fucking have the right to make him, got it? It's a fucking game, smartass. Leave Evan alone." Evan pulled at Connor's sleeve, dragging him back down next to him on the couch, where Connor met him with a light kiss. Oh, good. Yes, good. It was settling down. Everything would be fine.

    But he still owed Jeremy some kind of explanation. He was right. It didn't make any sense and it wasn't fair. Evan pulled away from his boyfriend.

    "Jeremy, I, well... I, um..." Jeremy's eyes were glassy, clouded with both worry and curiosity.  Evan searched for an excuse... some of the truth? Better than nothing... He opened his mouth to say something about some gardening hobby or research for something or... "I'm a sorcerer," Evan said. He clapped a hand over his mouth. No, no, no! That's not what he was supposed to say. That's not what he was going to say. It slipped out, but he'd never wanted to say it. Jeremy's brow had furrowed, his mouth gaping with some unworded question. Connor hovered in the corner of Evan's eye, confused concern painting his silhouette. Michael was frozen, looking over his glasses at Evan, and with a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. Why had he said that? Jared. Jared was grinning at him. Kinda evil, very triumphant. His eyes were glittering. He held up the glass bottle again, full of glistening gold... no.

    "Sorry, Hansen. You were eating yourself alive with that all bottled up. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth how 'bout it? Super nice of you to already have the potion ready and everything. I'd warn you to watch your drink if you ever go to a bar. It's way too easy to spike it." Evan's eyes shot to his empty soda can on the coffee table. Jared had brought it to him. It was open and everything. How had he been so stupid?

    Evan yanked himself out of Connor's grasp, out of everyone's questioning eyes. He scrambled up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

    Uh oh.